Colorado Senate Bill 19-181, the oil and gas regulations bill, gets final approval and is headed to governor’s desk

The Colorado Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to Senate Bill 19-181, which promises to bring big changes to the way Colorado regulates the state’s oil and gas industry.

Despite a number of industry-friendly amendments, including a new characterization of the types of state and local regulations that are allowed, industry groups still oppose the bill, which now simply waits for Gov. Jared Polis’ signature.

Before the vote, bill co-sponsor Sen. Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, tweeted that he had moved for the Senate to concur with house amendments to the bill.

“It’s time to pass this bill and make health and safety our top priority,” Fenberg said via Twitter.

The Colorado Petroleum Council and the Colorado Oil and Gas Association issued a joint statement following the bill’s passage.

“SB 181 is the most comprehensive oil and natural gas legislation Colorado has seen in decades. While a few critical amendments were added that begin to address some of industry’s concerns and provide a degree of certainty to our member companies, our industry remains firmly opposed to this bill because it threatens one of the pillars of Colorado’s economy.”

The bill is extremely controversial in Weld County, where 90 percent of the state’s oil and gas is produced. Leaders here have hosted community protest events and there’s an ongoing recall attempt against Democratic Greeley Rep. Rochelle Galindo.

As initially introduced, SB 181 was intended to change the way the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission interacted with the oil and gas industry — from fostering oil and gas development to regulating it. It also intended to give more power to local government entities in making land use decisions about oil and gas.

When first introduced, the bill said state regulations couldn’t be imposed arbitrarily and capriciously. One of the new amendments changes that to say regulations must be “necessary and reasonable.”

That means a lower legal hurdle for companies challenging regulations, according to reporting from The Denver Post.

In a text message after the bill’s passage, Weld County Commissioner Chairwoman Barbara Kirkmeyer called the bill deeply and fatally flawed, and pointed to Adams County’s recently enacted drilling moratorium.

“We want a balanced and independent approach to energy regulation in Colorado,” Kirkmeyer said. “Nothing about this bill, the way it was passed, or the way local governments like Adams County are interpreting it could lead anyone to conclude that Jared Polis and his Boulder colleagues are taking a balanced approach.”

Despite opposing the bill, the industry groups were complimentary of the changes to the bill in the past two weeks.

“While we clearly disagree on this bill, we appreciate that legislative leaders heard us and opened a dialogue in the final two weeks about the unintended, and intended, consequences of the legislation as introduced,” according to a statement from COGA and CPC. “We hope that dialogue will continue for the remainder of the legislative session and beyond — that’s how Colorado should work. Our state’s energy future is too important to shut out voices from all impacted stakeholder communities.”

In a news release sent after the vote, Fenberg said meaningful reforms to the state’s oil and gas laws were long overdue, adding that the bill would ensure public health and safety were top priorities.

“I’m extremely proud of all the progress we made in both chambers to craft the best possible policy for Coloradans, and I look forward to Governor Polis signing this bill into law,” Fenberg said in the release.

— Tyler Silvy is a content manager for The Greeley Tribune. Reach him at tsilvy@greeleytribune.com. Connect with him at Facebook.com/TylerSilvy or @TylerSilvy on Twitter.